Tashkurgan

Tashkurgan, historically known as Sarikol and Shitoucheng, is a town in the far west of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan. It is the seat of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Tajiks, an ethnic Pamiri people who live in the Pamir Mountains of Xinjiang, make up a little over half of the town's population. Tashkurgan was a significant stop on the Silk Road, with roads leading to major trading centres such as Kashgar, and it also served as the capital of a number of ancient and pre-modern kingdoms. Its position among the high mountains of the Pamirs makes it one of the most remote county seats in the country.